The decision by the principals of Ottawa’s Béatrice-Desloges Catholic Secondary School to measure the skirts and shorts of students, the vast majority of them girls, to ensure their conformity and to send them home if the garment is too short caused agitation strong reactions.
Jason Dupuis, superintendent of the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est de l’Ontario, explains that the decision was made last Thursday after comments were received.
“We went on a class trip to remind boys and girls that school has a dress code. Management decided to intervene on those who might have had clothing that did not conform to the code,” says the superintendent.
In several social media posts, secondary school students say they were “humiliated” when they were taken out of class to check if their clothing was appropriate.
The students also claim that a ruler was used to measure the length of the shorts and that some were asked to lean forward to touch their toes to ensure their clothing was respectable.
Some students were asked to bend their leg back at the knee while standing to check that the shorts they were wearing conformed to the dress code, which was at least mid-thigh.
The next day, the students demonstrated in front of their school to express their opposition to this systematic review. Two students from another school were arrested.
The Center-Est Catholic Schools Council has launched an investigation to shed light on the situation.
According to Jason Dupuis, the investigation concluded that no rule was applied, despite information circulating to that effect.
However, the Board would like to apologize for this situation.
“We apologize,” said Daniel Boudria, school counselor with the Center-East Catholic Schools Board.
“We strongly believe that our students should be treated with dignity and respect,” he continues. He insists the board recognizes the situation and is not trying to minimize the impact students are experiencing.
Superintendent Dupuis agrees that the dress code should be revised and has pledged to make swift changes.
“It wasn’t the dress code that was at stake, it was the way the teachers carried out those checks,” Mr Dupuis said.
At this time, there is no talk of penalties or consequences for the teachers and school leaders who conducted the exam.
“We will await the results of the investigation by Mr. Dupuis and his team,” confirms Councilor Daniel Boudria.